By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
FIBA wants to create a new path in European basketball that includes all the major stakeholders and that includes not only the EuroLeague but also the NBA.
According to sources from the international basketball federation, FIBA confirms that, following an invitation to the President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball and also to the shareholders of ECA, a meeting was held in mid-September to discuss the unification of European Basketball. As a key factor in the development of basketball and given that it’s a longtime partner of FIBA, the NBA was also invited and participated in the meeting. After the end of the discussion, all parties agreed to meet again in the coming months.
It was rumored since the summer that FIBA under new secretary-general Andreas Zagklis wanted to finally end the debate with ECA which has created a private league in Europe back in 2000. However, what’s also must be noted is that the proposed plan does not include the creation of a league based on the model of BAL, a joint venture between FIBA and the NBA in Africa, as was mentioned in a report by the Spanish newspaper “Marca”.
According to Eurohoops sources, the meeting was held in Madrid and the EuroLeague management was present but not the clubs.
The point of the meeting and the inclusion of the NBA was that all the major organizations across the globe had to take part in the talks which will provide a better future for the sport in Europe.
The NBA also issued the following statement on the issue: “The NBA has a long relationship with FIBA in growing basketball around the world through initiatives such as Basketball Without Borders and Basketball Africa League (BAL). We have also played several preseason games against Euroleague teams throughout the years. As part of our ongoing collaboration with both stakeholders, we were recently invited to participate in discussions on how we can work together to grow basketball in Europe. We look forward to participating in further conversations in the future. “